Chiatura mine claims yet another life - Georgian worker dies during excavation works

26 March, 2018

A worker has died in the Chiatura mine, in the industrial town of Chiatura, in western Georgia.
According to the reports, the body of a 45-year-old man, working in the tunnel, was found in the ruins. Sadly, More than 500 people have perished in the Chiatura mine in the last 85 years. A worker in Chiatura mine. Photo courtesy Daro Sulakauri

The accident was confirmed by the Ministry of Internal Affairs. Investigation is in progress under Article 240 of the

Criminal Code of Georgia, which pertains to the violation of safety rules.A worker in Chiatura mine. Photo courtesy Daro Sulakauri

The company Georgian Manganese has released the statement related with the tragic accident in Chiatura, namely Shukruti mine. Chiatura mine. Photo courtesy Daro Sulakauri

“The tragic accident happened in Chiatura, in particular Shukruti mine. According to the primary data, the part of the ceiling collapsed, while one of the miners got stuck in a locked part of the mine," reads the statement. Working process in Chiatura mine. Photo courtesy Daro Sulakauri

The rescues have found the location of the victim and got 45 years old Zaza Abramishvili out of ruins. The body was transferred at Forensics Bureau. According to the representatives of the company Georgian Manganese, there are no signs of a crime according to preliminary examination. The specialists think that there was no violation of the safety rules. The workers having a break in Chiatura mine. Photo courtesy Daro Sulakauri

Representatives of the Labour Inspection Department under Georgia's Ministry of Health and Labour have completed their work in Shukruti mine of Chiatura town.

The department members stated that the accident requires carrying out a technical inspection in the mine.

Mirian Bedianidze, Head of Mining Facilities Supervision Division of the Technical and Construction Inspection, said that a technical group will conduct technical inspection in the nearest days.

Chiatura is very rich in manganese deposits, with the majority of them located in the gorge through which the Kvirila River flows. Working in the mines is quite hard and risky job. Photo courtesy Daro Sulakauri

Chiatura is a home to the largest manganese reserve in the Caucasus Mountains. During Soviet times, the extraction of manganese ore was a huge business. When the regime collapsed in 1991, a steep economic decline ensued, harshly impacting the industry. As of 2016, there were just over 3,000 workers in Chiatura’s seven mines and eight quarries.Old cable cars in Chiatura

The mining town of Chiatura, Georgia, surrounded by steep cliffs, is crossed by a network of aging Soviet-era aerial tramways that are still in use today. In the early 20th century, after the U.S.S.R. annexed Georgia, Soviet authorities were intent on extracting the vast manganese deposits beneath Chiatura.Chiatura is a home to the largest manganese reserve in the Caucasus Mountains

Despite these terrible statistics of deaths during the excavations, open discussion of working conditions in Chiatura’s mining facilities is hampered by many factors, the first of them being the lack of alternatives when it comes to job seeking. As locals themselves explain, the mines provide the vast majority of the region’s very limited number of workplaces and are pretty much the only way for most locals to sustain themselves.A worker going at work in Chiatura mine. Photo courtesy Darko Sulakauri

This lack of alternatives makes the desperate miners agree to any conditions put forward by their employers.